Reuters Health News Summary
Following is a summary of current health news briefs.
Some women don't heed warnings of acne drug danger during pregnancy conception
It's long been known that the highly effective acne medication isotretinoin - marketed as Accutane and Roaccutane - is tied to the risk of severe birth defects. But even with a special program in place to prevent conception in women taking the drug, each year two to three hundred women in the U.S. become pregnant while taking it, a new study shows. The program, dubbed iPLEDGE, which was started in 2006 by the Food and Drug Administration, requires women who want a prescription for isotretinoin to use birth control or promise to abstain from intercourse and to take a pregnancy test before starting the drug and every month thereafter.
Biohaven's treatment for Lou Gehrig's disease fails to win FDA nod
Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Co Ltd said on Friday the U.S. health regulator failed to approve its treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease, sending its shares down nearly 6% in extended trading. The company said the Food and Drug Administration issued a complete response letter, raising concerns related to an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) used in a 2017 study that was made by Apotex Pharmachem India Pvt Ltd between 2014 and 2016.
Trump EPA allows use of controversial pesticide
The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday said it will not ban the use of the pesticide chlorpyrifos, which has been linked to health issues in children, from use on U.S.-grown fruits and vegetables. The agency denied the petition by a dozen environmental groups, led by Earthjustice, to ban the pesticide. They said studies show that exposures to the pesticide is liked to low birth weight, reduced IQ, attention disorders and other issues in infants and children.
WHO flags Ebola risk in Rwanda, but then withdraws its report
The World Health Organization on Thursday withdrew a report that said an Ebola patient may have entered Rwanda, suggesting the deadly virus could spread to that country for the first time. The report, and others written by Uganda's Health Ministry and published as daily updates by the WHO's Africa office, detailed the case of a Congolese fishmonger who died of Ebola after going to Uganda and vomiting four times.
WHO says investigators conclude Ebola victim did not enter Rwanda
A Congolese woman who may have spread the deadly Ebola virus in Uganda did not go to Rwanda or the Congolese city of Goma while contagious, the World Health Organization said on Friday. On Thursday, a report written by Uganda's Health Ministry and published by the WHO's Africa office had said the woman, a fishmonger, was suspected of going to Goma and Rwanda as well as Uganda before she died.
Health Canada to keep importing Kaleo's epinephrine shot amid shortages
The Canadian health regulator said on Friday it would keep importing U.S.-based Kaleo Inc's epinephrine auto-injectors and expects adequate supply of the devices in the country over the coming months. There has been a shortage of EpiPens in the United States, Europe and Canada, mainly hit by a series of manufacturing delays at Pfizer's Meridian Medical unit that produces all EpiPens sold globally at a single plant near St. Louis.
U.S. CDC links two deaths to multi-state salmonella outbreak
Two people have died following a multi-state outbreak of salmonella infections linked to backyard poultry, U.S. health officials said on Friday. One death was reported in Ohio and the other one in Texas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Smokers have more complications after skin cancer surgery
Complications after skin cancer surgery may be more common in smokers and former smokers, a U.S. study suggests. Researchers examined outcomes after "Mohs reconstruction," a procedure to remove a skin cancer lesion. Once the cancer is removed, often from the head or neck, surgeons may close the site using a flap made from surrounding tissue or a graft of skin taken from another area of the body.
Second opioid distributor charged over role in U.S. drug epidemic
An Ohio drug wholesale distributor and two former executives were charged on Thursday with profiting from the U.S. opioid epidemic by selling millions of pills despite signs the addictive drugs were being misused. Federal prosecutors in Cincinnati charged Miami-Luken Inc and four people in the second U.S. criminal case against a drug distributor over its role in a crisis that has killed hundreds of thousands of people.
Pets may help older adults manage chronic pain
(Reuters Health) - People with pets may be able to use their companion animals to practice techniques for managing chronic pain without medication, researchers say. In focus group interviews, pet owners over age 70 with chronic pain said their pets brought them joy and laughter, helped them relax, kept them active, and promoted other good habits that can also be marshaled to manage pain, the study team writes in the Journal of Applied Gerontology.
